The Wayward Bus

I have often liked this film with Joan Collins as the bus stop café owner whose wandering husband-bus driver, Rick Jason, takes a group of oddly matched tourists on a rugged journey south down a storm flooded road. There is quite a bit of gripping suspense as Chicoy (Jason) manages to pull the bus across a flooded river before the bridge collapses. Also, it has some romantic surprises while the passengers are stranded from their bus as Chicoy searches a barn for a tractor he can use as a tow. Jayne Mansfield does quite well as a cynical bubble dancer trying to conceal her trade. Someone should do a remake of this movie.

Concentrating on America only 1957 was a good year for films that were mainstream and yet took on adult issues. ' No Down Payment ', ' The Bachelor Party ', ' Monkey on My Back ' and a ' A Hatful of Rain ' are a few well worth tracking down, and from the Sci-Fi horror movie field there were many delights, and the threat of the Atomic Bomb underlined a lot of them. It seemed like the year people expected to see issues outside the norm. ' The Wayward Bus ' almost ranks among the above mentioned. It could have gone further as the Steinbeck work does, but remains a little timid towards what it had on its hands. Despite that Jayne Mansfield shows that she could overcome being a stereotype if given the chance and Joan Collins manages to look ordinary and both act better than in other films I have seen them in. Rick Jason looked like a contender for being better known but somehow ( he had the looks ) drifted into television. Dan Daily acts the serious buffoon, and the chemistry was not quite there with Mansfield as a ' love ' partner. As for the direction it looks fairly good enhanced by sharp black and white Cinemascope and the action scenes ( especially with the bus on the collapsing bridge ) are well done. I could watch it again quite easily and I think it deserves an 8 for nearly being that adult film it should have been. But only please watch it in Cinemascope because in pan and scan it looks dull and a lot of available copies of it around are not in Cinemascope.

Starting from a backwater bus stop, a load of assorted passengers and their hunky driver have to negotiate terrible road conditions, while dealing with personal problems along the way.

Catch that bus. No wonder it's "wayward". Looks like it was bought at a junk yard sale, but, hey, it proves to be a real trouper. Chicoy (Jason) is the driver and he's got to get his assorted passengers to their destination, come heck or high water, both of which make a scary appearance. Meanwhile, the passengers have to pair up or straighten out, meaning the bus journey is not just literal but symbolic of personal discoveries. That may not be an original plot device, but the road effects are really well done. One thing for sure, except for Mansfield the film has a really drab look to it. Even the usually glamorous Collins is dressed down. Speaking of Collins, she's the only one to go over- the-top amongst a generally well-acted storyline. Going in, I thought this would be a Mansfield showcase, but it's not. She's just one of the passengers with her own personal difficulties to get straight. In fact, her budding romance with an aging Dailey is rather poignant. All in all, the movie adds up a decent time-passer with a few thrills and some non-sappy soap opera to carry the narrative.

I was surfing the channels and came upon this gem. I liked it! Interesting to see Rick Jason out of uniform. The one neat thing about it is the ending. Good movie.

"Johnny Chicoy" (Rick Jason) owns a run-down bus which operates on a route from Rebel Corners, California to San Juan, Mexico. His wife, "Alice Chicoy" (Joan Collins) runs the small bus stop and and they have two young employees named "Norma" (Betty Lou Keim) and "Ed 'Pimples' Carson" (Dee Pollock) who help them out. Although Johnny and Alice love one another the problem is that Alice is an alcoholic who is insanely jealous of other women and mistreats both Norma and Ed rather badly as well. In any case, after a heated argument Norma decides to quit and gets on the bus to San Juan with some other passengers which includes several rather unusual characters. Although the actual bus ride isn't very long, what none of the people count on is the weather taking a severe turn for the worse which subsequently results in some life-changing decisions for all them. Now from what I understand, this film was based on the book of the same title written by John Steinbeck with a few changes here and there to accommodate a motion picture audience. Likewise, it was also being used to showcase the talents of Jayne Mansfield (as the stripper "Camille Oakes") who had only recently come into prominence as one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols. Be that as it may, what I liked in particular about this movie was the depth of the characters and the manner in which all of the actors played their parts. Additionally, there were a couple of suspenseful scenes which were also quite entertaining as well. That being said, although it is certainly dated, I enjoyed this movie and have rated it accordingly. Above average.